Here's TIME's cringeworthy roundup of the most embarrassing political missteps of the year.

Samoa crossed the International Dateline. The island-nation skipped December 30th, jumping from December 29th straight to December 31st. The move brings Samoa onto the same calendar page as its local trading partners.

Cyclone Thane hits India's southeastern coast, disrupting power supplies and communication lines and forcing villagers to evacuate.

Australian police surround the Chinese consulate in Sydney during a siege in which officers said shots were fired.

World stock markets were wavering Friday, the last trading day of 2011, but the full year saw sharp losses for many investors. Tokyo's main index saw its lowest close for nearly 3 decades.

A new island is being created by an underwater volcano in the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Yemen.

A disgruntled former employee shot at least two international workers from the aid group Doctors Without Borders at the group's office in the Somali capital, a security guard said on Thursday. At least one person was killed.

Ten years after Germany started using the euro, the single currency is facing a make or break year and economists say the euro hasn't worked out as planned.